Rahal family teams up for LB Grand Prix

Graham Rahal comes out of Turn 4 late in the IndyCar auto race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 9, 2012, in Fort Worth, Texas. Rahal, who was leading the race with two laps to to, hit the wall, allowing Justin Wilson to pass and win the race. (AP Photo/Larry Papke)
— AP

Graham Rahal comes out of Turn 4 late in the IndyCar auto race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 9, 2012, in Fort Worth, Texas. Rahal, who was leading the race with two laps to to, hit the wall, allowing Justin Wilson to pass and win the race. (AP Photo/Larry Papke)
/ AP

Graham Rahal says he has always had a special relationship with his father Bobby, who is a three-time winner of the IndyCar season championship, the 1986 winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the principal owner of Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Racing.

So when it came time for the younger Rahal to launch his own racing career six years ago, it seemed only natural that Graham would drive for his father’s team the way Marco Andretti drove for father Michael’s team.

But when the Rahals sat down and discussed the subject, both father and son agreed the timing wasn’t right.

“I just needed to get out on my own,” Graham Rahal said earlier this week as he prepared for Sunday’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

“I am my dad, only 30 years younger. When we studied all the ins and outs of starting my career for dad’s team, we both agreed it wasn’t a good idea. The only way to gain respect from my peers as a driver was to drive for other teams and prove I could do it on merit.”

It didn’t take Graham Rahal long to gain respect. In the 2008 season opener at St. Petersburg, Fla., Graham Rahal became the youngest race winner in Indy Car history at 19 years and 93 days.

Five years later, in the same race, son finally made his debut driving for his father’s team.

Why now?

“It was time,” said Graham Rahal. “It all came together.”

Graham Rahal the driver was available at the same time that Bobby Rahal and TV talk show host David Letterman were expanding their IndyCar team from one part-time entry to three full-time cars.

“There was not another team in the sport that made bigger gains since the end of last season,” said Graham Rahal. “The team went from being small to large. Dad was looking for another driver with credentials. I was the best available driver for the job.”

Things haven’t gone completely as planned. Graham Rahal has finished well outside the top 10 in his first two races for his dad. “So far our luck has been terrible.”

The Rahals are hoping that will change on the streets of Long Beach, although Graham says “there’s been something of a family curse at Long Beach.”

Graham Rahal has run in the top three in three of his six IndyCar races at Long Beach. Bobby Rahal finished second in the Long Beach Grands Prix of 1992 and 1993. But Long Beach has been cruel to the Rahals.

For example, in 1993 then San Diego resident Michael Jourdain led the race for 49 laps and was leading going into his final pit stop for a splash of fuel with seven laps to go. But as Jourdain departed the pits, his car stuck in third gear.

“Neither my dad or myself have ever gotten the break we need at Long Beach,” said Graham. “In any IndyCar race, any mistake usually spells doom. But because Long Beach is a narrow track with a lot of sharp turns, the smallest mistake is magnified.”